Enter, The Monster!

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (1956) – The iconic city crushing reptile stomps his way across Tokyo in his American movie debut.

Directed by Ishiro Honda, Terry O. Morse

Starring Raymond Burr, Takashi Shimura, Momoko Kochi

Why I Liked It – This Americanized version of the original hits on all points.

This is and is not the “original” Godzilla movie. It is the original in that a lot of the screen time is filled with shots from the Japanese original from 1954. The movie had been a success over there, and in limited screening in the U.S. had done better than many had expected. So, they took the framework of the original, wrote some new scenes with an American main character (played by Raymond Burr), shot those and slapped it all together.

That doesn’t sound particularly appetizing but the King of the Monsters pulled it off again. For the majority of Americans, this is the first time they would see the nuclear monster rise from the depths and bring carnage and chaos to the people of Tokyo. If you’re willing to give the movie a little slack for its low budget appearance and effects, you’ll discover a wonderful little movie waiting for you.

Steve Martin (yes, that’s the characters name! Raymond Burr) is a reporter an American news agency who is injured at the beginning of Godzilla’s rampage. At that point no one understands what’s going on and Martin tells the story in flashbacks to his Japanese friends. Nuclear testing has resurrected an animal from the time of the dinosaurs. Godzilla lashes out, shrugging off every attempt to stop or kill him. In the end, a weapon of terrible power is discovered that may save them all, but will its creator allow its use?

Raymond Burr shot all his scenes in six days in California. It is the masterful work of veteran film editor and director Terry O. Morse that results in a movie that looks like it is all one piece. I spent the first half of the movie waiting for the kind of cheesy action and acting that I grew up watching in the ’60s. It never happened. Yes, the monster is low-budget early 1950s style, but it was well done for the time. Burr is solid in his scenes and the Japanese actors are solid as well. It was a happy surprise that I felt by the end. There’s a reason why it has remained a favorite movie for so many monster movie fans over the years.

Count me among those fans. A great monster, solid story and acting, a bit of a love story along the way, plus a struggle with the ethical decisions that will both create and destroy the King of the Monsters.

You can stream “Godzilla:King of the Monsters” on AppleTV, YouTubeTV, Prime Video, The Criterion Collection, Darkroom

Rating – **** Recommended